Why I chose DMM Banusy for my first experience as a horse owner.
When people ask me, "Which horse owner club are you in?", I reply, "I have shares in three horses at DMM Banusy." The response I usually get next is, "Oh, so it's not one of the Shadai-affiliated ones?"
Including that reaction, today I'd like to organize why I chose DMM Banusy as my club. I hope this will be a helpful hint for those who are about to start as horse owners.
Common wisdom says that "40-share clubs are the mainstream."
Horse owner clubs are completely different businesses depending on how many shares a single horse is divided into. If we categorize them by large, medium, and ultra-small shares, the major clubs generally fall into the following three tiers.
・40-share clubs... Shadai Race Horse / Sunday Racing / G1 Racing
・400-500-share clubs... Carrot / Silk / Lord / Yusun / Tokyo Thoroughbred Club / Normandy
・2,000-4,000-share clubs... Hiroo Race / DMM Banusy
It goes without saying, but in terms of "dividend size," 40-share clubs are overwhelmingly advantageous. With 40 shares, one share represents a 2.5% stake. When winning the same G1 race, the amount you receive is actually 100 times different compared to a 4,000-share club (*rough calculation before deducting fees).
As a general rule, people often say, "If you're going to be a horse owner, the Shadai-affiliated 40-share clubs or the 400-share clubs like Carrot or Silk are the best, right?"
But I dared to choose the 4,000-share DMM Banusy.
I wanted the experience of winning, not the dividends.
The reason is simple: at my current stage, I wanted the "experience of winning" more than the size of the dividends.
When you first start as a horse owner, the most exciting thing, if you think about it calmly, is "the moment your horse wins at the JRA." It's not about the payout amount; it's about seeing your horse circling in the paddock, running in front of the stands during the warm-up, entering the gate, and crossing the finish line in first place. For a beginner, this series of experiences is irreplaceable.
The overall winning rate for JRA horses is around 30%, and for the top tier of major clubs, it's a little over 40% (I checked this on the Horse Owner DB). Conversely, this means that about 60% of horses finish their careers without a single win.
I wanted to push this probability as high as possible.
With a 4,000-share club, you can get your hands on high-priced horses.
This is where the structure of DMM Banusy comes into play.
For example, suppose there is a horse worth 100 million yen. In a 40-share club, one share would cost 2.5 million yen, which is honestly difficult for an average salaryman. But with a 4,000-share split at DMM Banusy, you can invest in that same 100 million yen horse starting from 25,000 yen per share.
What this does is increase the probability of being able to invest in high-priced horses.
High-priced horses are basically those with high pedigree evaluations, mostly horses purchased at the Select Sale for tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yen. In other words, they are a group of horses that the market expects to "perform well." The winning rate should also have a higher potential to be pushed above the JRA average.
In fact, the three horses I have invested in are all at a level where, even when compared to Shadai/Northern farm horses based on pedigree, I wouldn't normally even dream of investing in them. Yet, I am able to own three of them simultaneously while keeping my monthly costs down. This is the benefit of a 4,000-share club.
The dividends are thin, but the feeling of "winning" cannot be converted into money.
Of course, the dividends are indeed thin. Since I only own 0.025% of a share, even if a horse wins a G1 race, I only get a few thousand yen, and even for a graded stakes race, it's only a few hundred yen. It's 1/100th of what you'd get in a 40-share club.
But for me, that is not very important.
In the phase where I have just started as a racehorse owner, what I am looking for is not cash-in, but rather "gaining the experience of being on the owner's side multiple times." If they win, it shows up on my dividend statement. I watch the race replay over and over. I imagine what the trainer is thinking regarding the horse's next race. All of this is a learning experience for me.
If I can keep my monthly maintenance costs down and invest in multiple horses that seem likely to win, that was the most rational choice for my current stage.
As you advance to the next stage, the club you choose will also change.
However, I also don't think this is the eternal correct answer.
Once I have finished accumulating the "winning experience" with three horses at DMM Banusy, I want to shift to a club with thicker dividends in the next stage. Specifically, my medium-term goal is to try investing in one horse in a 400-share club.
I would like to make racehorse ownership a lifelong hobby if possible. What I look for changes at each stage, and as what I look for changes, the club I choose will also change.
The question of "which club is the best" doesn't really hold up in the first place. If I were to rephrase the question, it would be, "Which club best suits my current stage?" I think this is the correct question.
Summary
To summarize the reasons why I chose DMM Banusy:
At my current stage, I wanted more winning experiences rather than larger dividends.
Thanks to the 4,000-share split, I can invest in high-priced horses that I usually couldn't afford for just a few tens of thousands of yen per share.
I can experience three horses at once while keeping my monthly burden low. This suited my beginner phase.
If you have just started as a racehorse owner and are worried about "which club should I join?", I would like you to first ask yourself, "Why do I want to invest as a racehorse owner?"
I am currently in the middle of enjoying the "winning experience phase" at the entrance. I will do my best with the next stage as my goal. Haha